European Assets Trust Share Price (EAT)

Thanks dusty. They haven't exactly helped to clear the mist have they? "readily realisable assets"? Bonds? Bullion? Watches?? Cattle??? After the last (reported) dividend distribution, the distributable reserve had dropped to £346m but as you pointed out in your original post, that's enough to cover the dividend for years ahead even without income from investments.

Like you, I'm very happy with my investment here. My only issue now is that the SP seems to be catching up with the true value inherent here, so the yield on any new shares I bought would now be less than 5%. My current shares are earning over 6%, so I'll try to raise some funds to use in the event of a pullback in the SP. That looks unlikely for now though I have to say.

Thanks again, & good luck with your investments. K

Hi Krustysmegma, thanks for the response.. I did email EAT and got a reply from the company secretary 'the Distributable Reserve is composed of readily realisable assets. This reserve is disclosed to provide shareholders with comfort regarding the sustainability of the Company’s dividend.'

It didn't fully answer my question as to exactly what this reserve entails. There is also some reference to it's composition in the full year report. I suspect it includes liquid assets that are part of the trust. For them to have a reserve this size completely independent of the trust would indeed be awesome, but sadly I think that is hard to believe(I would welcome being proved wrong). That said, and regardless - I am very pleased with performance here in the time I've been a holder. Seems they have made some good decisions at a turbulent time.

dusty42, I'm not an accountant or anything similar but everything I've read about a distributable reserve suggests it is just that, money put aside by a Trust during good times (up to 15% of distributable funds p.a.) to cover liabilities, including dividend cover, during leaner times. If this is indeed the case, EAT looks to be in a very healthy position currently. K

Hi silverknight. Yes, I was trying to clearly indicate I did not believe this to be the case, it was the reason for my question. I will try contacting the company and asking.

I'm happy - will be approving and re-appointing at the AGM